Improvement in winding and setting watches



freely on pivots f NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

F. A. GILES, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN WINDING AND SETTING WATCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,397,

To all whom @t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FREDEEicK A. GILEs, of No. 13 Maiden Lane, in thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedMode of Winding and Setting Watches at the Stem or Pendant; and I doherebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionot' the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specication, in which- Figure lis aplan view, on ascalelarger than the real size, ot' the winding and setting parts of awatch, showing them in position for winding. Fig. 2 is a similar view,showing the parts in position for setting. Fig. 3 is a sectional viewofthe same, perpendicular to Figs. l and 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalgures.

This invention consists in a novel and very simple device, wherebyeither the ratchet on the arbor of the mainspring-barrel or thecannon-pinion ofa watch may be brought at pleasure into gear with aspindle passing through the stem or pendant for the purpose of windingor setting the watch.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and apply my invention,I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

A is the spindle, passing freely through the stem or pendant of thewatch and turning in suitable bearings, a a., Fig. 3, attached to theplate B, but being prevented from moving longitudinally by any suitablemeans. This spindle carries a spur-wheel, b, which gears with a circularseries of contrate teeth,c, on the back of a wheel, C, which is arrangedto turn freely on a tlXed pivot, d, secured in or to the plate B. Thiswheel C has on its periphery a series of teeth, e, which gear with theteeth of two smaller toothed wheels, fand g, which turn and g', securedin the two arms of a yoke-plate, D, which is arranged to vibrate uponthe pivot d. These wheels fand g are so arranged that f may be broughtinto gear with the ratchet-wheel E, which is commonly attached to thearbor s of the springbarrel, and g may be brought into gear with thecannon-pinion h, or any pinion on the center spindle of the watch towhich the minute-hand dated August l5, 1865.

is attached, but thatf cannot be in gear with E and g in gear with hatthe same time. The saine spring, ,which serves to keep the click j ingear with the ratchet-wheel E is also made to press upon the yoke-plateD to bring the wheelfinto gear with E.

Fisapinfittedtoslidelongitudinallythrough one side of the rim of theplateB and through the case of thel watch, one end of itprotrudingthrough the exterior of the case and the other being opposite to aprojection, 7i", on the yokeplate D. This pin is for the purpose ofbringing the wheel g into gear with the cannon-pinion h for setting thehands of the watch,which is effected by simply pressing the thumb orlinger against its outer end with sufficient force to overcome thepressure ofthe spring i', which, when there is no pressure on the pin F,holds the wheel fin gear with E, and so keeps the wheel g out of gearwith 7L. rIhe pin F is prevented from sliding farther than is necessaryby having a slot cut in it for the reception of a stop-pin, l, which isscrewed into the plate B.

Vhen it is desired to wind the watch the pin F is left free, as shown inFig. l, and the spindle A is turned. The wheel bthen gives motionto thewheelC, and that wheelgives motion to the ratchet-wheel E andmainspring-arbor through the wheelf. When it is desired to set the handsthe pin F is pressed inward, as shown in Fig. 2, and the wheel f isbrought out of gear with E, and the wheel g brought into gear with h..By then turning the spindle A in one direction or the other the handsare turned either backward or forward.

The arrangement of the wheel f relatively to the pivot d is such that inturning the spindle in the proper direction for winding the wheelfisdrawn toward the center of the ratchet-wheel, and thus prevented fromslipping out of gear by the pressure ofthe teeth ofthe wheel fagainstthose ofthe wheel E. By this means the necessity for making the springt' of a strength greater than is necessary to keep the teeth of fenteredbetween those ot'E is obviated.

The teeth ofthe wheel E, instead of being sloping or of the ordinaryform of ratchetteeth, may he straight, like those of an ordinaryspur-wheel.

I do not claim, broadly, the employment, in

a stern-Winding watch, of a vibratin g frame to carry any portion of thewheel-work through which motion is transmitted to the windingarbor and.to the hands from the spindle passing through the stem 5 but Whatl claimas my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

4The combination, with the vibrating yokeplate D, carrying twoWheels,fand g, one of which is arranged to gear with the Wheel E on ltheWinding-arbor and the other with the cannon-pinion, of a Wheel, U,having a series of teeth, e, on its periphery, which gear with theWheels f and g, and a series of contrate teeth, c, which gear with aspur-wheel, b, on the spindle passing through the stem, the wholearranged and operating substantially as herein described.

F. A. GILES.

Witnesses J. W. CooMBs, GEO. W. REED.

